Nintendo DS Becomes All-Time Best-Selling Video Game System; Wii Sells More Than 7 Million for Third Consecutive Year

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 4, 2011 - The close of 2010 produced two sales milestones for Nintendo in the United States.

According to Nintendo's internal sales figures, the Nintendo DS™ family of portable video game systems has sold more than 47 million in the United States since the original model launched in November 2004. That tally makes Nintendo DS the nation's best-selling video game system of all time.

For the second major milestone of 2010, Nintendo's internal figures show that the Wii™ home console marked its third consecutive calendar year with U.S. sales of more than 7 million - a feat never before accomplished in the history of video games by a home console. To date, the Wii system has sold more than 34 million in the United States alone.

"When we look back at 2010, we see consumers time and again turning to the value and enjoyment of our products," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "When we look ahead to 2011, we see new portable technology and more great Wii games that need to be seen to be believed."

Nintendo is set to release its new Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system in the United States in March. The portable system lets players see 3D content - without the need for special glasses. More details about the system will be announced in the future.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com. For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.5 billion video games and more than 577 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com.

I didn't post it here because I try not to relay flimsy rumors, but apparently HMV.ca listed Pikmin 2 for the Wii on their website. Some people took that as evidence that the rest of the New Play Control games may be coming to North America after all.

Now the release of old New Play Controls titles in itself is hardly worth getting that excited about. But it could be a sign that NoA is now more willing to release titles they know will have tepid sales. i.e. we could be getting stuff we thought we had missed out on, plus it's a good sign for Xenoblade, etc.

I don't even want more Wii games (even though I have the slimmest shred of hope for that 'we'll localize Japanese titles to pad out 2011'). Just as the Gamecube market became a fallow field, regardless of Nintendo's efforts, the Wii market is almost dry (in multiple territories). Skyward getting pushed to Holiday 2011 will be a horrible, horrible sign.

Well, if they really do localize some stuff, it wouldn't be too bad, BUT Nintendo has a real chance to get a jump on the competition with a timely Wii 2. Even one that was slightly more powerful than the PS3/360. That could immediately garner a ton of support: Cross-platform stuff, 360/PS3 ports/compilations...

I sort of wish the Wii 2 had come out Holiday 2010. Then Nintendo could have held their momentum.

I don't believe a damn thing Reggie says. I'm sure Wii will have a couple nice surprises this year, but I don't expect a repeat of 2010. In fact, it'll probably be May before we get anything worth playing.

Sure, but I want new hardware OR several interesting new Wii game announcements before then.

And Nitnendo will have to supply those new Wii games because I don't think a single one will come from anyone else.

I do have a backlog of Wiiware and VC games, and retail games like Kirby and Goldeneye (not to mention Monster Hunter) to fall back on in case of droughts, but still. If the Wii is gonna end the way the Cube did, it will disappointing.

edit - Plus, new hardware and a new bunch of games usually translate in increased activity here. You people will post more, for my entertainment (while I should be working)!